Chassis panel fit, stupid question 1 of many.....

Just starting to panel my chassis and have noticed a few of the welds (specifically on internal corners) are holding the panels off the tubes, now before I break out the grinder what does everyone else do?? And if I do grind them off what paint should I use to touch up the powder coat?

Ta

Paul
 

Randy V

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On cars that I have done with riveted paneling, I trimmed the alloy to fit around the welds if in a structural part of the chassis. In a space frame - they may all be structural so I would let that and your best judgement be your guide..
 
What Randy said.

Each panel where they've hit welds I've ground away the edges of the panels to clear the welds.
Occasionally I've cleaned up a weld (eg where there is a bit of spatter) but that's only very occasionally. Also where I've ground them away I've done it whenever possible at an angle to 'match' the weld so that it sits as flush as possible.

I've had Simoniz "Tough Black" recommended to touch up, not used it yet though.
 
I thought that would be the opinion but the issue is where panels are bent at 90" and meant to fit into a corner therefore it is not possible to cut the panel to suit like on the LHS return of this panel (not my car btw)
af30abd063096741d73c68cbef46503a_zpsd1b4e604.jpg


Possibly me being fussy but I may as well start as I mean to go on...
 
What I've done there is to trim the panel where the chassis rails sit so that the folded piece is flush with the chassis.

Don't have a good photo but this kind of shows you what I mean

2011-11-10%252002.25.06.jpg
 
Hi Paul, don't grind off any welds there part of the strength, splatters of weld yes remove .
Trim the ally panel by filing off so that the panel sits flat.
Don't worry about touching up the paint, it won't matter a bit and what I did after all the panels were fitted is to seal the edges with sikaflex sealer ( where the not Seen on the insides ) more importantly between engine bay and cockpit because of engine smells which make you feel sick and can kill !!!!
Make sure all panels are flat to the chassis rails or when riveted they will indent slightly and look shit. Don't be over fussy but make the rivets equal distance apart or that will show
 
Also Paul you will have to trim the sgt panels a bit, there good but not all are perfect.
Trim long pieces with a guillotine not a pair of snips even if you have to take to a engineering works or sgt as there not far from you.leave the cockpit cill panels to last or your damage them.
I got bored with doing one area so alternated back then front then somewhere else and so on.
I,ll send you a pm with my e mail address at work if you need info
 
Great thanks for all your replies and thanks for your PM too Keith. I will keep you all updated with pics as I go.

Cheers

Paul
 
Ive been doing my last few panels by hand, Ive been roughly cutting out the shape with a jigsaw. For long straight edges on 1.2mm ali I have been leaving between 5 - 10mm then scoring the line with a sharp stanley knife then folding over in vice. Once cleaned up with file looks pretty good.
 
Ive been doing my last few panels by hand, Ive been roughly cutting out the shape with a jigsaw. For long straight edges on 1.2mm ali I have been leaving between 5 - 10mm then scoring the line with a sharp stanley knife then folding over in vice. Once cleaned up with file looks pretty good.

It's funny you should say that as I have just been reading Trevor's build thread and someone on there said the same thing, I will give it a go:thumbsup:

Paul
 
Hi Paul,

I'm not far from you and building a non-40 but have the same panel fitting issues. I suggest you get a proper sheet metal scribe instead of the knife blade, you will find it much easier to use. Also, I bought a power file. One of the most useful tools I ever bought. Clamp the panel well and you can file down to the scribed line with really fine control. Use a medium or coarse belt (lasts for ever) and very light pressure. But be careful, they are powerful, a slight slip can make a big dig.

Have fun,
John McL.
 
Ive been doing my last few panels by hand, Ive been roughly cutting out the shape with a jigsaw. For long straight edges on 1.2mm ali I have been leaving between 5 - 10mm then scoring the line with a sharp stanley knife then folding over in vice. Once cleaned up with file looks pretty good.

Also try getting a straight edge like a spirit level and then run the jigsaw along it. I also have a seperate jigsaw for this that have a felt pad on the bottom to allow it run smoothly and not scratch the ali
 
Paul,

Another thing. You asked about grinding flat the welds on internal corners. I know SGT welds are done properly with correct joint preparation for full penetration. So the blob on the top does not contribute to weld integrity. If you look at flat joints elsewhere on the chassis you will see that they have been ground so I would not be concerned about finishing the corners to get the panels to fit flush. Ask Mick what they would do.

BTW you can do the job with that power file I mentioned.

Regards,
John McL.
 
Unless I am the guy that actually made the welds, I would not grind anything off, whether the builder says it is penetrated or not. The first time you find out you're wrong is the time a chassis joint cracks....and you better hope it isn't critical.
 
Thanks again for the help, I popped into to see Mick today and he reassured me I was worrying over nothing really, the weld in question was not huge just bigger than the others and was only at the top on one weld so a light file and the panel fits fine.

I tried a few methods of cutting the panels tonight with some scrap ally and in the end decided to use the old band saw that used to be my Grandads, popped a metal blade in it and it worked great :thumbsup: just a final tidy up with a file and looked like someone who knows what they are doing did it!:laugh:
 
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